A Family's Love
by DemonTail300
Summary: Rua's been action werid since the twins' parents have come home. An early return home is going to reveal many secrets, some Rua hoped his friends would never find and others he never knew he had. M for Mature. Contains abuse and other such things. Enjoy!
1. Rua's Abuse

**Hiya Dudes! Alright, **_**A Family's Love**_** is finally rewritten and I finally got off my lazy tail to finish going over it, with the help of **_**exleader75**_**. Sadly, I kinda upset him, so if the story isn't up to this type of quality again, I'm sorry. To you guys, cause the story would be written better and also to him, cause I was an idiot and lost a very good beta for this story. But here's the first chapter to **_**A Family's Love**_**.**

**Please Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer- I don't own Yugioh 5ds**

**The beta who helped with this fanfic was **_**exleader75.**_

**Note- The twins are about 13 or 14 in this fic, just to remind you.**

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**Chapter:**1 : Rua's Abuse

"I can't believe it!" Ruka cried excitingly after reading her e-mail. "They're coming home today! Aren't you excited, Rua?"

Rua already knew she was referring to their parents, Anita and Roger, because she always acted this way every time she was informed of their parent's homecoming or soon to be. "Totally! It's been so long since we've last seen them," Rua said with a force smile.

Truthfully, though, he wasn't as excited as his sister was; it was quite the opposite actually because he had been wishing this day would never come. While his sister fussed over getting everything ready, he let his mind wander. Contrary to popular belief, his parents weren't as kind as they led everyone to believe they were. Well, to Ruka they were , they thought she was their own special gift, the perfect child they had always wanted. But where was he was concerned? Pfft, they would sooner see him die than to actually do anything to help him if they could get away with it. However, since he and Ruka were so close, much to their parent's hate, they couldn't do anything except make his life a living hell.

When Ruka wasn't in sight, or anybody for that matter, Ruawas their own personal punching bag, subjected to all their hits and degrading words, being forced to take them and all the while wishing for them to just end him. He thought of running away, suicide, the list goes on… He even tried to kill himself once but no matter what he tried, he always ended up back here, forced to go through his "punishments" and wait for their return to repeat it over and over and over again. He hated them for what they done to him, of course, but he hated himself even more for hiding what his parents did to him. The lies he made when someone saw a bruise that he hadn't been able to cover, excuses as to why he couldn't go out because his whole body hurt to badly to move, or when he tried to tell someone, only for fear would stop him cold and make him hide behind his mask again.

How could be protect his sister when he couldn't even protect himself? Why couldn't he tell someone what his parents were doing to him? Why can't he fight back? Why didn't he fight back? Why? Why? Why? **WHY?**Rua smiled; he knew the answer. They had him beaten like a whipped dog who would just lie down and let his owners do whatever they wanted to him. Rua felt disgusted; that was the only word he felt for himself.

When has he ever let anyone treat him like that? Didn't he go up against Demak? Didn't he fight against Lucciano and get his sister's dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon, back? Again, he knew the answers. Demak had only wanted to duel Ruka, who was a Signer, and Lucciano wanted to duel Ruka because he had wanted Ruka's dragon. Neither had wanted anything to do with him, the boy who _wasn't _a Signer, and he hadn't defeated either of them by himself in the end. Ruka had to help him defeat Demak and Lucciano defeated him, his attack sending him over the rail and almost getting himself killed. Though, for some reason, the Crimson Dragon had caught him, but he didn't know why the dragon had appeared to do so. Even with all that going on, he was glad he still had dueling as an escape from everything that happened and also the support of his monsters, especially Power Tool Dragon, even if he couldn't understand them like his sister could.

"Mom! Dad!" Ruka shouted as she came running toward the front door to hug them, drawing Rua from his thoughts.

"Hello Ruka. How's my special girl doing?" Anita asked as she hugged Ruka tightly.

"I'm fine, mom," Ruka replied. "What about you and Dad? How was your trip?"

"Fine, princess," Roger happily replied. "But we're glad to be able to see you again."

Ruka laughed as her father lifted her up and swung her around in a playful manner. Rua walked over and picked up his parent's luggage so he had an excuse for Ruka as to why he wasn't hugging or greeting their parents yet. It was an unspoken argument between him and his parents, well maybe not, since he recalled the two yelling at him to not let Ruka know of what they did and what happened, so she wouldn't be _tainted_by him anymore than she already was. He didn't care about that; he only cared that Ruka would be alright and wouldn't be hurt because of those two.

"Hurry Rua!" Ruka called. "We're going out for dinner."

"Coming!" Rua replied loudly for her to hear as he quickly put the bags down in the master bedroom. After he finished, he ran into the living room where Ruka and their parents were waiting. Ruka smiled at him and made her way out the door, missing the glares her parents sent to Rua. Rua, however, did see them and knew that his parents would want him to have a _private talk_with them later. As Rua followed after them, he prayed that they wouldn't beat him too badly since it was their first night back for their month long stay.

It was almost two weeks since their parents had returned home and Rua knew they were just waiting for an opportunity to get to him alone, so they could _properly_punish him. They got their wish not a day later when Ruka had to go on an errand which he knew was picking up the surprise gift for their parents they had seen in a store a few months ago and had been saving up their allowance to buy.

"I'll be back a bit later," Ruka said as she kissed both of her parents goodbye and gave a wave to her brother, before heading out the door. The apartment was silent for a few moments as Rua's parents waited to make sure Ruka was truly gone, before they turned their attention to Rua.

Rua knew what was about to happen and quickly tried to escape to his room, only for his father grab the back of his shirt and send him flying in the opposite direction, across the room, into the wall. Rua gave a cry of pain as his back collied with the wall, the pain shooting up his spine, though he pushed it back and tried to stand up when his mother quickly appeared in front of him and sharply slapped him on his cheek, sending him back to the floor in a hard crash. As they hit and kicked him, god knows how many times, he curled into a little ball trying to protect himself from their attacks.

"You worthless, worthless child!" Anita yelled down at Rua. "I don't even know why you were ever born! You're nothing, but a curse to us!"

"A burden to everyone!" Roger growled. "Your sister can duel top duelists! The only thing you're good for is doing chores and other errands, but you can't even do those right, you horrible child!" Rua took every hit and insult they said to him, knowing there was nothing he could do and that it was easier to just take it.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted: a few minutes? an hour? He didn't know, but he felt like he was in a haze as he began to lose focus on what his parents were doing to him. The blood loss from old and new cuts opening making him dizzy.

"You wretched child!" Anita screamed, scratching him on the neck with her nails. "Pay attention when we're talking to you!" Rua didn't move from his spot on the floor, angering the two even more that he wasn't responding to their hits. Rua saw his father moving in, preparing to punch him again, but he was too tired and in too much pain to move. He closed his eyes, waiting for the hit to come, when the most unexpected thing happens.

"**RUA!**"

That was all Rua heard, before his father gave a cry of pain and his mother released a startled yell. Slowly opening his eyes, he couldn't believe what was in front of him.

Jack stood towering over his father, twisting his left arm behind his back, while Yusei had his mother in a tight and secure grip. Aki, Mikage and Ruka were standing at the doorway; Ruka was holding a large bag which she quickly dropped, ignoring the sound of shattering glass from inside, while making her way over to her injured brother. Rua was barely sitting up from his brutal beating when he felt Ruka'swarm arms around him, causing him to wince as she made contact with his wounds, but he quickly pushed the pain away as he tried to get over what was happening. Concerned by her brother's stillness, Ruka pulled back a bit to look at him.

"Rua…" Ruka asked quietly. Rua stared at her for a moment, then at the others, as if not really seeing them, before he shakely stood up on his feet and tried to run as fast as he could toward the doors to try to get away from all this confusion…

…Only for Aki to catch him. Rua thrashed in her arms, trying to get out of her hold. "Let me go! Let me go!" yelled Rua.

When Rua realized that Aki wouldn't release him, he dug his nails into her arm and bit down hard…drawing blood. Aki let out a small gasp, but still held onto Rua, bending down to her knees and wrapping him in a hug from behind. "It's alright Rua…" Aki whispered calmly into his ear. "It's alright."

They stayed like that for a few minutes when tears finally, but slowly, started to run down Rua's face, while he unwrapped his hands from Aki's arm. With her arm released, Aki turned Rua's beat-up body around and wrapped her arms around him more firmly as he wailed into her shoulder. Akijust held him as she whispered calming words to him, while shooting his parents death glares from over his shoulder. "I'm taking him back to his room," said Aki, before lifting Rua, who was still crying into her shoulder, and carrying him back to his bedroom.

After they heard Rua's bedroom door close shut, Jack and Yusei turned their attention to the two people they were holding.

"Just what do you think you two were doing?" Jack asked angrily, glaring at them with an intense anger in his violet eyes.

"We were reminding that…that _child_ what he was!" shouted Anita. "A worthless curse that was given to burden us!"

"He can't do much of anything anyway," Roger continued. "He's just something that takes up space!"

Yusei, Jack, Mikage and Ruka couldn't believe what these people were saying! And about their own son! "We would've gotten rid of him years ago after he caused Ruka to fall into her coma," said Roger as he continued to insult Rua. "But Ruka was too attached to him and we couldn't separate the two because we didn't have an excuse we could give Ruka if we did separate them."

Ruka stood there in shock at what her parents, HER parents, were saying as their words went through her head. If they had had the chance, they would've split her and Rua apart; her none the wiser of their true reasons! And the fact they just admitted to hating their own child and doing all these horrible things to him! _"They couldn't…wouldn't…those things…hurt…Rua."_

With all those thoughts running through her head, she almost missed what they had to say next. "I…I wish I never had such a thing!" Anita shouted. "He filled our lives with nothing but pain."

"If it wasn't for him, our Ruka wouldn't have been held back," Roger said.

Ruka couldn't believe the people who were in front of her, all the hate they felt for their own son. Ruka thought back to Rua, walking in to see her parents hitting him, his beaten form crying in Aki's arms, just seeing him so...so.. _**broken**_. Ruka felt herself walk over to her parents, catching Jack, Mikage, and Yusei's eyes, and...

***SLAP**SLAP*  
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The room fell silent as Roger and Anita, whose cheeks turned bright red in the shape of Ruka's right hand, stared in shock at Ruka. "Ru…Ruka!" sputtered Anita.

"Why did you…" Roger began to ask, but fell silent when he saw the deadly death glare his daughter was giving him.

"You…You horrible people!" Ruka shouted. "How could you do this? To your own son! To _Rua_!"

"We did it because he doesn't deserve to live," shouted Roger. "He wouldn't have died to if it hadn't been for that.."

"Enough!" Ruka shouted, cutting him off and trying to understand the true nature of her 'parents'. "The only ones who shouldn't be here are you two!"

"What?"asked Roger surprised at the anger Ruka's face and brown-gold eyes were showing.

"I can't believe I'm related to you! All Rua's ever done is protect me and everybody else!" said Ruka .

"But he's the reason you fell into your coma," Anita yelled, equally shocked as her husband at Ruka's outburst. "If he hadn't made you play that stupid game…"

"It's because of Rua that I came out of my coma!" Ruka shouted. "You two just gave up on me while Rua stayed with me! If he hadn't kept calling me, I would've stayed in my coma! And it was because of him that I was able to keep my promise! Rua's the reason I'm here at all! While you two have been away at who knows here, Rua was here protecting me! He has done everything he could to make sure I'm happy and safe!" Ruka took some breaths to calm down herself down, before she spook more quietly, "Rua's my family and he will always be. But I never want to see you again. Not near me and certainly not near Rua. As far as I'm concerned right now, you were never family."

"Then where will you live?" sneered Anita . "How will you and that mistake survive without us taking care of you?"

"We'll manage somehow, but as far for you being here and taking care of us? You guys just wired us money every other month and expected us to feed ourselves," said Ruka.

"And what do you plan to do then?" asked Roger in a cruel tone.

"They'll live with Aki and I," answered Yusei without hesitation. Ruka was shocked, before giving Yusei a grateful smile, which he returned.

"Not possible." Roger smirked viciously. "Since we never signed for anyone to be their guardians, should something happen to us, they'll be put into the system. I've heard that siblings rarely stayed together."

Before either Jack or Yusei could attack the two, Mikage closed her phone and stopped them. "Stop! Yusei! Jack!"

"What is it?" asked Jackas he and Yusei looked over at her.

"I just got off the phone with the child's court judge and under the circumstances, she's agreed that Yusei and Aki will be Rua and Ruka's temporary guardians until this mess has been sorted out," said Mikage .

"You can't do this!" Roger roared as he and Anita struggles to free themselves against Jack and Yusei's strong grips.

"Yes they can," Ushio said as he and two other Sector Security officers came into the room and handcuffed the two screaming individuals. "You are arrested for child abuse, being seen abusing and beating your child, and admitting in front of several witnesses, one of which was your own daughter, that you have done other things and/or planned to do, to your son."

The couple shouted and struggled for all they were worth as they were led out the door by the two officers, cursing both their children for all they were worth, before they all heard the Sector Security squad car drive off.

Ushio looked at the others in the room. "I don't think I have to tell you that this will be a long trial. I'm not sure how long it will even take, but I have to tell you that you all may be ask to go to the stand. Especially Rua, he's going to be one of the most important parts to this. However, this isn't going to be easy. If this has gone on since Ruka went into her coma, then Rua's going to have a lot of problems. We're probably going to find out about things we didn't know and more then anything Rua's going to need us. So I have to ask, are you ready to deal with all of this?" asked Ushio .

They all nodded their heads not a moment later.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to help Rua and Ruka. So will Aki," said Yusei .

"Jack and I will too," Mikage added.

Jack crossed his arm. "I'm not going to be the one who tells Crow about this," he said.

"I will," assured Yusei. "But you better put more guards on those two then, Ushio. When Crow finds out, he's not going to be happy."

Ushio nodded. "I'll get back to you when I know more" he said and then looked at Ruka. "If you and your brother need anything, just call. Alright, Ruka-chan?"

Ruka nodded. "Thank you, Ushio-san." Ushio smiled at her, before leaving the apartment.

Yusei walked over and knelt in front of Ruka, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Ruka?" he asked, worried.

Ruka was silent at first, but then she shoke her head and she wrapped her arms around Yusei's neck, burying her face into his shoulder. "No." cried Ruka. "Rua…those things they did to him…what they **wanted**to do to him…oh Yusei." Yuseiheld onto her as she cried, gently patting her head and whispering calming words to her. It took almost a half an hour, before Ruka finally calmed down. Yusei pulled back a bit to look at her face once she did.

"Feeling a bit later?" he asked. Ruka gave a nod. "Good. Now let's go get some of your and Rua's things, okay" said Yusei.

"Alright," agreed Ruka .

"I'll come help you Ruka," said Mikage.

The four went down the hall, Ruka and Mikage entering Ruka's bedroom, while Yusei and Jack entered Rua's. When Jack opened the door and looked into the room, he and Yusei saw Aki sitting on the bed with Rua in her lap, patting his head as the older twin slept. They noticed some bandages sticking out from under his shirt and how red and puffy his eyes were, evidence of how long and hard he'd been crying.

"He fell asleep a few minutes ago," spoke Aki quietly. "He's exhausted."

"Who wouldn't after what he's been through." said Yusei, stepping into the room with Jack, both taking care to be quiet as to not wake Rua " How's your arm?"

"Fine, he only broke the skin a bit," assured Aki.

Yusei nodded and helped Jack pack up a few of Rua's things for he and Ruka's stay at his and Aki's apartment. About an hour later Yusei and Jack had a bag ready for Rua that would last a couple of days until he, Jack, and Crow came back for everything else.

"You guys ready?" asked Mikage as she and Ruka looked into the room from the doorway.

"Yeah, we're ready," Yusei answered as he and Jack picked up Rua's bags and Aki carried Rua, being careful to not wake him. The group made their way outside, where they put the twins' things in the trunk of Mikage's car, before placing both twins in the back seat, while Jack and Mikage sat in the front. Yusei and Aki went over their D-Wheels they had driven over in when they had come with Ruka. The group was soon on their way to Yusei and Aki's apartment.

Jack and Mikage helped get the twins' things inside once they arrived, before they said their goodnights to the others, promising to come over the next day to check on things, and leaving the apartment.

"Yusei, why don't you get Rua ready for bed; you get ready too Ruka, while I get the bed ready for you and Rua" said Aki.

"Alright, Aki-san," said Ruka, going into the bathroom to change.

" I'm going to check on his bandages and make sure he isn't getting sick" said Yusei as he carefully lifted Rua up from the couch they'd placed him on earlier. He was a bit surprised how light the boy was, causing him to hold Rua a bit tighter. 'Not now' thought Yusei ' I promise Rua, we're going to help you and make sure this never happens again'

Aki nodded and they set off to do their tasks.

Aki was just finishing putting the pillows on the pull out bed when Ruka came into the living room.

"Thank you, Aki-san," Ruka said.

"It's nothing, Ruka-chan," said Aki. She turned to look at Ruka, who was looking down at her feet and fiddling with her hands, before giving off a sigh and taking a seat on the bed.

"Come here," said Aki. Ruka did as she was bid and walked over to her, where she was pulled into a hug. "I know that none of this will be easy, but you're not going to be alone. Yusei and I will be by you and your brother's side, so will Jack, Mikage and the others. So if there's anything you need to talk about, just come find one of us, okay?"

Ruka nodded and smiled, while replying back, "Thank you, Aki-san."

"You're welcome." Aki released Ruka and stood up. "It's been a long day and tomorrow is going to be even longer, so let's all go to bed."

Ruka nodded her head in agreement and cralwed into the bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin once she was settled. Yusei came out of the bathroom, gently carrying Rua, who was changed into his pajamas, in his arms. Aki pulled the covers back and Yusei carefully layed him down, mindful of his injuries, before Aki coverd him with the blankets. Ruka moved closer to her brother the moment they were done, before she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Yusei and Aki smiled at the sight, then walked back to their own room after whispering a soft goodnight to the twins.

Later into the night, Ruka slowly opened her eyes, seeing only the dark room and was wondering what had woken her up. Looking over at her brother, she saw him whimpering and weakly thrashing around, and knew that he was having a nightmare.

"Rua, calm down. You're safe, I'm right here," she whispered to her brother as she snuggled closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here. I'm going to protect you like you protected me. I'm here Rua and I'm never leaving your side."

Rua slowly stopped, before he fell silent again. A small smile appeared on his face as he wrapped his own arms around Ruka.

"Ruka…" he muttered in his sleep.

Ruka smiled and laid back down again. As she fell back asleep, she knew that things were going to be okay, even if there were going to be tough times ahead of them, because even if their biological parents were in jail, with what they done to Rua they were never family. Aki, Crow, Jack, Yusei and all the other helpful people the twins had met, that may not be related to the twins by blood or DNA, would be their family. They had never done anything to hurt either twin, intentionally or without reason, and have always been by their side, not something she could say about their biological parents. Sure, they had work, but that didn't excuse them for just leaving them alone all the time. Even with the tough times ahead, Ruka knew that with the support of their mis-matched family, she and Rua would be okay and everything would turn out fine.

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**So? How was it? This month is almost over and with break coming next month I should be able to add more chapters. I plan to play it by ear and hope to be able to get you guys more chapters. Thanks for reading and Please review! Til next Dudes!**


	2. Visitors

**Hiya Dudes! I would like to apologize for the long wait and to give many thanks towards the readers and exleader75. Things have gotten a bit crazy in my life, but I'm going to try to calm them done enough to get new chapters done sooner and far more quickly than they have been this last year. So, without further ado, please in enjoy the next chapter to **_**A Family's Love**_**.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but my Ocs.**

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"They did WHAT?" Crow yelled at the top of his lungs.

Yusei pulled the phone from his ear just in time, though it still rung a bit, before he spoke again.

"Crow, calm-"

"Yusei, I swear, if you tell me to calm down, I'll make what I did to Jason look like a playground scuffle," growled Crow, darkly.

Yusei knew Crow was telling the truth, and right now, he did not want to be the target of the bird duelist's anger. Not long after meeting the bird duelist, the twins had started to see him as another brother figure. Rua and Crow had especially bonded, much to to his and Jack's shock. For while Crow was friendly to everyone, he kept his true feelings inside himself; Rua had been able to break through all of that with ease and both had formed a very strong bond.

Crow sighed, drawing Yusei back to the present. "How is he?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess. Right now, he's sleeping," answered Yusei, looking over at the twins.

"I'd be surprised if he's up after going through that. Ruka too for that matter," said Crow. "Listen Yusei, I'll come over in a bit. I just have to take care of a few things."

"That's fine. Rua probably won't wake up for a while yet anyway," replied Yusei.

"I'll see you then. Later."

Yusei sighed and slipped the cell phone back into his pocket. "How did Crow take the news?" asked Akiza as she entered the room.

Yusei looked over at her. "Better than expected. He didn't start making any death threats, but that might change once he sees Rua."

The couple looked over at the twins, who were still asleep on the couch. They weren't sure when it happened, but sometime last night, the twins managed to curl around each other. Their heads were barely touching each other, and both had content smiles on their faces. The couple smiled at the two hoping that, in time, they'd be able to smile like that when they were awake and would be out of the nightmare their parents had created for them.

Loud, hard knocks came at the door.

It was repetitive pounding that caught the attention of Yusei and Aki and was able to awaken the twins from their pleasant dreams. Ruka quickly quieted her brother and got him back to sleep, before slowly climbing out of bed to join the couple at the door.

The couple turned towards the door, wondering who that could be this early in the morning.

"What's going on?" asked Ruka, sleepily as she rubbed her eyes in slight annoyance.

Yusei shrugged and went to open the door before the door broke with the hard knocking. Opening the door, they came face-to-face with four teens about the same age as the twins.

One was a female with light tan skin, long, raven hair that went down to the middle of her back with ice blue highlights combed through, and blue eyes that were as cold as ice. She wore a pair of old jeans with holes in the knees, a faded denim jacket over a dark blue tank top, a pair of black combat boots, and an old, faded, blue cap on her head.

The other three were males.

The one standing just behind the girl—easily the tallest of the four—had shaggy brown hair, dark tan skin, and amber eyes that were giving Yusei a hard look, as if telling Yusei that should he make a wrong move it'll be the last thing he ever does, and dressed in a pair of faded black jeans, a green shirt that had the sleeves ripped off, an old yellow jacket, and a pair of tennis shoes.

The male standing to the left of the girl had a light tan skin; spiky, red hair going in every direction; and burnt orange eyes that gave Yusei a fierce look. He was dressed in a pair of green cargo pants that had straps hanging loose behind him, a blood red T-shirt with faded black markings on the front, an old brown army jacket, and a simple pair of brown sneakers.

The last male of the group, standing to the right of the girl, had pale skin with shoulder length hair in a mix of black, blue, and silver. His gray eyes with specks of blue in them were hidden behind square tinted framed glasses that gave Yusei a calculated stare; he wore black jeans, a dark blue top under a heavy grey jacket, and black sneakers.

"Is he here?" asked the girl, breaking them out of their thoughts.

"Is who here?" asked Yusei, as he and the girls gave the teens confused looks.

"Rua-chan," answered the girl like it was the most obvious answer. "Is he here?"

"He might be, but who are you guys? How do you know Rua?" asked Yusei.

"Sir," spoke the tri-hair boy. "We just want to know if a boy named Rua is here."

Yusei looked at them, and while he would normally be kinder in such a situation, after the previous night he wasn't ready to let anyone near Rua that he didn't know. Ruka and Aki seemed to share his thoughts as they stood a bit straighter.

"I'm sorry, but until you tell me how you know Rua, I'm not going to tell you anything," said Yusei firmly, getting ready in case they tried anything.

"Look," said the boy behind the girl, getting frustrated with this conversation. "Would you just tell us if Rua…"

"Guys?"

The group broke from their conversation and looked toward Rua, who was looking at them in confusion, rubbing his eyes as he tried to wake up some more.

Before Yusei, Aki, or Ruka could stop them, the group gave a cry of "Rua-chan!" and rushed into the apartment. They were next to Rua in seconds, giving him a large group hug. The other three could only watch in confusion as the group talked to Rua at a mile a minute.

"Guys, calm down," said Rua as he managed to push the others back a bit. "One at a time."

The group seemed to calm down a bit, allowing the girl of the group to talk.

"Rua, are you sure you're okay?" asked the girl, giving him a concerned look.

"Yes, Cleo, I'm fine," said Rua giving her a smile. "Just a few bumps and bruises."

This caused both groups to frown. The Signers knew for a fact that Rua didn't just have a few bruises under his clothes. Yusei had seen for himself the cuts on the boy's body and knew he'd be sore for a few days.

'I wonder if he's ever lied to us like that' thought the duelist with a frown.

"I think I'll be the judge of that," said the tri-colored boy with a stern stare.

"James, really! I'm okay," said Rua with a smile, even though he continued to inch away from the boy.

James just stared at him for a moment before he lightly tapped Rua's left shoulder. Rua gave a hiss and nearly fell to the floor as his legs gave out, until the other two boys caught him from behind. Rua leaned weakly against the duo, his face red with exertion. The taller one gently lifted him up and carried him back to the sofa.

"Realize I hate it when you do that," panted Rua.

"Who? James when he finds out where you're hurt at, or me when I carry you?" asked the boy as he put Rua down on the couch.

"Both," said Rua. "And do you really need to carry me every chance you get Kevin?"

"Yes," answered Kevin with a smirk, causing Rua to growl at him.

"I don't know how Kyo puts up with you." He sighed

"Patience is the key," answered Kyo. "But a good slap to the head works too."

The group just chuckled slightly before James shooed them away to give him room to examine Rua. It was then the group noticed the warn bag he had been carrying.

"Also, you know if you just told us you're hurt instead of trying to act like you're not, you wouldn't give him the chance to do the "princess-lift"," said James as he carefully undid the bandages to get a better look at Rua's injuries.

"But I don't want to worry you guys," said Rua, flinching when James lightly touched a bruise, causing the boy to frown.

"But we worry more when you nearly collapse on us, Rua-chan," said Cleo. "We don't like seeing you hurt, but we don't want you lying to us about it to just make us feel better."

The group was silent for a moment, which Yusei decided to use to get some questions answered.

"Rua? Could you tell us exactly what's going on?" asked Yusei.

Before Rua could even start, Crow burst into the room then followed shortly by Jack and Mikage. Crow quickly looked around before seeing Rua, then quickly making his way over to the group.

"Geez guys, I know you were worried, but you could've at least waited for me," said Crow

The group looked sheepishly at Crow. "Sorry Crow-onii-san, but you know how we get when we hear about Rua-chan being hurt," said Kyo.

"Especially when it's because of _them_…" growled Kevin.

Everyone noticed how the four teens suddenly took on a darker look and knew they didn't have to ask who the cause of their looks was, but it did raise other questions.

"Crow, what is going on? Who are they?" asked Yusei, before turning his attention to Jack. "And why are Mikage and you here, Jack? I thought you weren't coming over until later?"

Jack had finally gotten his breath back and looked at Yusei, who was still in his pajamas. "Maybe you, Aki, Ruka, and Rua should go change first. That will give us some time to get our heads together to tell you what happened," said Jack.

Yusei, Aki, Ruka, and Rua agreed to the plan and went to get changed. James warning Rua to be careful of his new bandages and to call if he needed help getting dressed.

"Yes, mother." Rua sighed as he made his way to go change.

James narrowed his eyes at him in a small glare. "Speaking of parents, where are yours at this time? We only knew you were here after Crow yelled the address at us when we rushed out."

Rua sighed and turned to look at the four. "I'll tell you when everyone's ready. The others want me to tell what's been happening too, so I'll just tell it from the beginning." His eyes were slightly downcast before he turned and grabbed his clothes from the bag Yusei and Jack had packed for him the other night, hurrying into the bathroom as Aki and Ruka had taken the bedroom and Yusei the kitchen.

The group sighed and looked up at Crow. " It…was bad this time, wasn't it onii-san?" said Cleo, in more of statement than a question.

"Yeah, but let's wait to hear the whole story," said Crow as he sat down on one of the chairs, running a hand through his hair. "There are things we haven't heard from Rua yet, and the others need to be filled in on what's going on. Also, we all need to come up with a plan to help Rua."

Kevin snorted. "Good luck with that last one. This is Rua we're talking about. Yeah, we managed to get through a bit, but he's had that thing up for years, and he knows how to hide. We'd have better luck getting him and Chambers together than getting rid of that thing," he said. This caught Jack and Mikage's attention, but decided to file the information away for later.

"I know, but we have to try, and right now we have a better chance. Yusei, Jack, Mikage, Aki, and Ruka are going to know, and the others will know after this. And Rua won't be able to hide from all of us. It'll be hard, but I think in the end, this nightmare of Rua's will be over."

"Let's hope so, Crow-onii-san," said Cleo as she looked towards the bathroom. "For Rua's sake."

"They've been what?" shouted a voice

A small shadowed figure was kneeling on the floor. "Yes, Master. Anita and Roger are currently in New Domino Jail. They were caught beating the boy."

"Fools," growled the voice. "I allowed them to do what they wished with the boy in the hope it would break his spirit. But due to their stupidity, the boy will be protected by the signers and his guardians."

"What are you going to do now, Master?" asked the figure.

"We'll wait," said the voice. "Let the Signers learn of what has happened to the boy. But let the boy feel worse about everything going on. His spirit was nearly broken, and I doubt those fools will be able to fix it now. So all we have to do is sit and wait for the opening we need."

Unknown to the others, Rua had heard them talking. He sighed as he slid down the bathroom door, which he had been leaning on, to the floor, pulling his knees up and hiding his face in them.

_'What do I do now?'_ Rua thought. _'They're going to be dragged into something I never wanted them involved in, and it will be all my fault if they get hurt. I don't know what to do anymore. I just want...I want...'_

A memory flashed through Rua's mind, causing his heart to clench and for tears to start to fall.

_"Whatever happens, no matter what they try to do, I will always find my way back to your side."_

"I want him back!" cried Rua into his legs. "I just want him back!"

He sat there crying for a few minutes before he was able to calm down. He quickly dressed, being careful of his bandages. He looked at the mirror to see that his eyes were still red and a bit puffy, proof of his tears. A quiet mumble under his breath removed the evidence of tears, which would make the others worried if they saw.

With another look in the mirror and a nod of approval that nothing could be seen through his glamor, Rua took a deep calming breath and opened the door.

It was time to answer some questions. 

**So, how was it? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to have the next one up soon. On a side note, I have a few RuaRuka stories planned, but I need a beta who doesn't care about incest. If someone wouldn't mind, I'd love to work with you. Thank you and please review! Til next Dudes!**


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